Colby Sanford, “Green Like Sunshine,” 2020, acrylic on panel, 16 x 20 in.
Provo artist Colby Sanford looks for the poetic in the prosaic and his intimate paintings created in a restricted palette are often accompanied by poems that further illuminate the extraordinary in the ordinary. On the back of “Green Like Sunshine,” you’ll find the following poem:
Green like Sunshine
(That is to say
it rises and falls,
Comes and goes,
Lives and dies.
Springtime is its morning,
Summer is its youth.
It will not live through fall.
When the winter winds call,
It sleeps.)
Colby Sanford, “Between Below & Above,” 2023, acrylic on panel, 11 x 14 in.
“Between Below & Above” was part of an exhibition titled “How Many Pieces of Me are Somewhere in the Sky.” The painting offers a poignant visual exploration of introspection and the ephemeral nature of aspirations. In this tender composition, the artist captures a moment suspended in time, where the subject—a young child—rests their head upon their hands in a gesture that seems to reflect contemplation or perhaps wistful longing.
The work’s cool palette—comprising of subdued blues, soft grays, and gentle browns—sets a mood that is both dreamlike and serene, invoking the liminality of the space between consciousness and a dream state. The child’s downcast gaze and the quiet repose suggest a deep inward journey, symbolic of the quest to connect with one’s own inner hopes or meditative self.
LEARN MORE ABOUT THE ARTIST AND VIEW MORE OF HIS WORK
Artists of Utah’s 35×35, Finch Lane Gallery, Salt Lake City, through Feb. 23
UTAH’S ART MAGAZINE SINCE 2001, 15 Bytes is published by Artists of Utah, a 501 (c) 3 non-profit organization headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Categories: 35x35
